Three major pension reforms happening in 2026 - what you need to know

Major changes to the UK pensions scenery are connected the skyline successful 2026.

Three reforms are acceptable to reshape however radical prevention for - and entree - their status income.

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Pension dashboards

Pension dashboards volition statesman rolling retired this year, with each schemes required to link by 31 October. Timelines volition alteration depending connected strategy size and type.

Jonathan Watts‑Lay, manager astatine WEALTH astatine work, says the dashboards volition springiness radical a presumption of each their pensions successful 1 place, helping them marque much informed decisions astir their fiscal future.

The Targeted Support regime

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is preparing to present a caller Targeted Support scheme, expected successful April 2026.

The authorities is designed to span the spread betwixt broad, generic guidance and afloat regulated fiscal advice.

Authorised firms - for example, banks, gathering societies, pension providers oregon adjacent employers moving with a workplace pension strategy - volition beryllium capable to connection tailored suggestions to groups of individuals who stock akin fiscal characteristics, making enactment much accessible and affordable for those who whitethorn not question afloat advice.

The timetable remains babelike connected parliamentary approval.

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The Pension Schemes Bill

Expected to go instrumentality by mid‑2026, the Pension Schemes Bill aims to tackle:

• Underperforming schemes;
• The contented of aggregate tiny pension pots created done auto‑enrolment.

With astir 13 cardinal deferred pots worthy nether £1,000 - and rising by 1 cardinal a twelvemonth - consolidation is seen arsenic a important step.

A caller Small Pots Delivery Group is processing the model for transferring eligible pots to authorised consolidators, with authorities apt to instrumentality effect astir 2030.

The measure besides introduces "guided retirement", requiring defined publication schemes to connection default pension payment solutions that person savings into status income.

Jonathan Watts‑Lay warns that defaulting individuals into standardised options risks repeating past issues seen with annuities, wherever radical missed retired connected amended deals.